People Are Beautiful

People are beautiful
walking in the light.
The light reveals and opens the doorway to where they stand
Inside their bodies, inside their heads and hearts.
And even if that space spills darkness,
the Mother’s eyes see the Beauty
Of the child walking through the puzzleOne piece in place…relief…joy
And the unbearable pause…
The search for the next missing piece begins.
All the pieces are there…
Tho scattered in ordered chaos
To be found when the time is right.
You cannot protect the child from
The labor and intensity
Or the boredom of
Putting It together…
Even if they lose a piece
of heart.
One day it coalesces.
The fullness of the picture revealed.
Each crack and curve texturing the finished landscape
Like lines on a face
That has walked the long road
Fingers shaking
Almost as unsure
As when they were small.
She watches.
Loving.
Each child walking in the light.
Slow, fast, graceful, hobbled
She sees
The beauty
With heartbreaking clarity
Loving.
Each step.
Each broken piece.
Each link.
Each hole.
Each Whole.